Gaming Conventions

Another new feature for Grognard.com, the Gaming Convention calendar will make it a snap to keep up with all the latest
gaming conventions in your area. But we need your gaming convention information, so please contribute.

Gaming Clubs/Organizations

Please check out our new (and growing) database of gaming clubs and organizations world-wide. Please let us know of
your gaming club, or any other clubs that you know about so we can make this a truly useful resource.

Spotlight Articles

Outstanding articles that are not necessarily linked to one particular game, but may have broad appeal to gamers.

Last week Moe Fitzgerald of Moe's Game Table site, made the trek from Dallas, Texas to the World Boardgaming Championships in the appropriately named town of Champion, Pennsylvania. While there, he had the chance to check out several upcoming games and learn of updates to existing ones. Read part #1 of his coverage here...

"…this year the company of doughty presenters was just a little bit different and a little bit special." Bill Gray offers an after action report on this year's Historicon, held in Lancaster, PA. Bill found plenty to enjoy, given that "…this year’s program weighed in at a whopping 104 pages of which 57 were devoted to game listings."

Marco Bijl presents samples of plastic figures from 35 board games on the Plastic Soldier Review web site. The article has a list of links for the games found on the BoardGameGeek web site, many illustrations of the plastic figures, and commentary concerning the size, number of poses, and colors used by the game publishers.

Gaming Clubs/Organziations

If you belong to a gaming club, or know of one, please drop us a line and let us know so we can get
it listed on Grognard.com!

New Search Features

Now you can search for specific games (or games by publisher) using the new Game Search feature, located at the top right corner
of the this page. In addition you can now harness the power of Google to search the entire Grognard.com
site for any specific information you'd like. Just enter a search word or phrase into the Google box
labeled "Search All of Grognard.com" and click magnifying glass button. Search features will continue
to be improved and enhanced going forward so check back often to see the latest stuff.

Grognard Originals

In addition to our links to great content all around the internet, expect to see more Grognard.com "originals" in the future.

The first game from Grognard Enterprises (Grognard.com) will be Land of the Two Rivers: Iraq War which covers Operation Iraqi Freedom from June of 2003 through the end of 2012 the latest (the game can end earlier). Design by Mark D'Agosta. Check in on the info article for the latest info on this game...

Mark D. and Harvey Mossman go head to head in a learning game of "South China Sea", a recently published title from Compass Games. This is a learning game for both of us so there will be lots of mistakes. But we'll try to keep the article updated as the game progresses.

NATO player aid sheet that allows for tracking of Electronic Warfare Points, Air Points, Tactical Nuclear Points and the locations of Hidden Static Territorial Units. Created by Mark D. for Grognard.com.

The first game from Grognard Enterprises (Grognard.com) will be Land of the Two Rivers: Iraq War which covers Operation Iraqi Freedom from June of 2003 through the end of 2012 the latest (the game can end earlier). Design by Mark D'Agosta. Check in on the info article for the latest info on this game...

"…the C-47 was so ubiquitous that the Soviets and even the Japanese had their own license-built copies…". Designer Lee Brimmicombe-Wood provides some fascinating details about new aircraft for the Wing Leader system, to be contained in GMT Games' Wing Leader: Eagles. And then there's an aircraft about which "…glowing reports from frontline units eventually trickled through to Stalin, who reversed the cancellation and ordered production resumed."

No Turkeys! of the Valgame Club offers this 1796 Napoleonic war game. The game includes an excellent overview of the situation simulated, the principals involved, tactics used at that time, and an account of the events within the actual battle. The game includes rules, counters, maps and players aids. Players can choose from 3 mini-scenarios representing different phases of the battle as well as a scenario for the entire battle. Fire up your color printer and engage.

The folks at VASSAL have added a module for International Team’s Austerlitz. VASSAL is an engine for building and playing Internet-capable versions of turn-based, human-vs-human games. Hundreds of games are available for internet play at the web site.

Time to prepare for our Eckmühl Brigade Tournament that starts 1 October 2018. Defend the Empire and the Emperor Napoleon or join the Coalition Army to defeat the La Grande Armèe on the battlefields of Europe. Hosted by The Wargaming Society.

"If the little globe is glowing and bouncing like a soccer ball, it means new scenarios are available – always for free." Bill Gray looks at the wealth of user mod scenarios available for Slitherine's Pike and Shot: Campaigns. Bill finds a lot of impressive work by members of the modder community, to include one that makes him exclaim "Whoa! Now that is both different and tough, and I like it."

Legion Wargames has announced that Maori Wars, designed by John Poniske will be shipping near the end of August. Maori Wars is a simulation of the principal uprisings that took place between 1845 and 1872 due to British colonial incursions into native Maori lands on the North Island of New Zealand.

"At Any Cost is without a doubt a classic hex and counter wargame." Ray Garbee reviews GMT Games' At Any Cost: Metz 1870 for Armchair General, giving it a 90% rating. Ray has some interesting insights that lead him to comment "I cannot say enough good things about the chit pull activation system in this game."

"[Hauptmann] Mohr is a fresh graduate of the Armor School at Munster, unsure of his own ability…". Brad, in his Hex Sides and Hand Grenades blog, offers a GMT Games' MBT scenario that goes with his novel Storm and Steel. Both the novel and the scenario sound like fun, and just who is this "…irascible Oberleutnant Muller…"?

Eric Walters provides a comparative review of several World War I tactical ground games including Soldiers from SPI, Trenchfoot from GDW, LANDSHIPS! From Clash of Arms, the In The Trenches series from Jeux Grenier Games: Opening Engagements, The Lost Generation, and Through Mud and Blood, and August 1914 from Avalanche Press. Commenters also mentioned Jassin 1915 from Khyber Pass Games, Red Poppies from Worthington Games, and Hamel 1918 from Schultze Games. August 1914 is “…for those who want heavy doses of historical coverage… What separates this game from all the others is that this "drills down" deep into ONE single campaign”, namely, the East Prussian Campaign.

Full video intro, review, DAR produced by Enrico Viglino for Victory Games "Cold War". I always liked this game and I love when it gets attention. Although Enrico is not overly impressed with it, I think it's a fun 4-player game and never pass up an opportunity to play.

"…it was exactly what the 1864 Confederates in Death Valley needed…" Developer William Byrne discusses how the tactical innovation dubbed "Open Order" is incorporated into GMT Games' Death Valley: Battles for the Shenandoah. The technique offered advantages, yet "…military thinkers worried then and for the next 50 years that Open Order incurred a higher risk of shirking and desertion…"

"If the invasion track goes too high, you may just lose the game and Israel is doomed!" Rick Martin reviews Dan Verssen Games' Israeli Air Force Leader for Armchair General, giving it a 96% rating. See what all Rick finds to like, and why he concludes: "…you really can’t go wrong with this one."

Strategy guide by Gunter Eickert. There are three different strategies that I like to play when I play as the Vikings. I will not say which is the best because that is for you to determine yourself when playing. First, though, I want to go over some of the big strategic mistakes many first-time players make. Don’t overextend your first invading Leader...

Jeff Capuano mods "Last Full Measure: The Battle of Second Manassas" with elements of Battle Hymn. After some recent gaming experiences, Jeff was motivated to try and modify this title with a couple of new ideas from another system, namely Battle Hymn. See what Jeff's conclusions were. Video produced by Jeff...

A fictional, Napoleonic flavored game for two to six players based in part on Avalon Hill's War and Peace, Blitzkrieg, and Diplomacy games. Musket Diplomacy is a free print-and-play game from Uhlan Games All files and a ZunTzu gamebox are available on the web site...

"Last Full Measure: The Battle of Second Mannassas" got a new western map extension, nearly doubling the map area. Players need only print the separate map which overlaps the original map, and the new order of appearance card, and that's all. The game is available on a print & play basis from Gerald Todd and Uhlan Games.

What is a "Fyrd"? Bill Gray checks out Creative Assembly's Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia, a simulation of struggles in post-Roman Britain. Bill likes the visuals and thinks the game has "…one of the best and most historically flavored strategy or campaign systems I’ve seen."

Crowbar!: The Rangers at Pointe Du Hoc Crowbar is a thrilling solitaire game recreating the assault against the Germans defending Pointe Du Hoc on June 6th, 1944. Designed by Hermann Luttmann. Now available on Kickstarter!

Legion Wargames has released a new game on Burma 1944 campaign, designed by Kim Kanger. The game focusses on March-August period, when Japan conducted an offensive towards the Indian border and Great Britain-US were trying to reach Ledo. Many aspects of the game are stimulating. Because the phase chits are chosen randomly, you go to combat with the stress of not knowing exactly when the supply check will be done. Combat and movement are interweaved (you fight a little after you moved and you move a little before starting the big fights), so there is much action most of the time. Also, the game fits well with 4 players (2 by side). To help beginners get familiar with the rules or memorize them, I prepared four player aids (2 pages each). They cover Sequence of Play, Combat Procedure, Track Management and Unit Attributes and Behaviour. (Player Aids shared by Michel Ouimet on his "Wargames for Everyone" blog.